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Petitions opposing DHL deal (U.S)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on Monday, July 14, delivered petitions opposing plans by DHL to ally itself with United Parcel Service.

After emerging from DHL’s offices on July 14, Brown said he met briefly with Mike Schmitt, Director of Operations for DHL’s hub in Wilmington, and delivered the petitions to Schmitt after rallying outside the building with workers from DHL, ABX Air and ASTAR Air Cargo.

The senator also laid out steps being taken by the federal government to deal with a proposed plan by Deutsche Post, owner of DHL, to move at least DHL’s air-freight operations to UPS’ hub in Louisville, Ky. If DHL moved these operations, as well as ground transport and overseas packaging operations to Kentucky, it could cost the region 8,200 jobs.

Brown said his staff is working with that of Sen. Herb Kohl to investigate potential antitrust issues related to the deal. Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, chairs the Senate’s antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights subcommittee. Lawmakers cannot hold hearings on the DHL situation until the company reaches a final agreement with UPS, Brown said. Federal officials are looking at DHL’s contracts with the U.S. government, the senator said.

Brown said he also has asked the Bush administration to help speed up a Justice Department review of the deal and also discussed potential uses of the facility by the federal government if DHL does leave.

Also on July 14, a coalition of workers and community leaders delivered the same petition to the state capitol. Mark Barbash, Chief Economic Development officer for the Ohio Department of Development, accepted the petition from members of Save The Jobs, said Keith Dailey, a spokesman for the governor.

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TNT shares jump on report of Fedex talks

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Shares in TNT NV jumped almost 30 per cent on Monday 14th July after a report that FedEx Corp. is in preliminary talks to acquire it, raising the prospect of a bidding war for the Dutch mail company.

The Financial Times newspaper reported on Saturday that FedEx Corp. wanted to add to its European parcel delivery service and that both United Parcel Service and FedEx have “coveted” TNT’s European parcel business.

TNT and FedEx declined to comment on the report.

“Such a move would make a lot of strategic sense for FedEx, given its predominantly US-business gearing and the weakness in the US Express market,” said ING analyst Axel Funhoff in a note.

“Should FedEx make a formal bid for TNT – there could be a quick counter bid from UPS, who should be equally interested in TNT but which has deeper pockets.”

TNT shares were up 26 per cent at EUR 23.26 by 0946 GMT, making it the main gainer in the DJ Stoxx industrial goods and services index, which was up 2 per cent.

The smallest of the world’s top four express delivery companies has often been seen as a target for its bigger peers and some analysts say this could be the opportunity for them to pounce.

TNT shares had shed about a third of their value since the start of the year due to uncertainty over its German business, slowing economic growth and rising oil prices.

Europe’s second-biggest mail and Logistics Company by market value, which competes with Deutsche Post, is not active in the domestic U.S. market. It has a strong presence in Europe and is expanding in Asia and South America.

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Letter Carriers' Convention; Over 8,800 Delegates Heading to Boston Event (USA)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Over 8,800 letter carriers are planning to convene in Boston July 21-25 as delegates to the 66th Biennial National Convention of the National Association of Letter Carriers — the largest convention among AFL-CIO unions.

The week-long event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) will bring together carriers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. The 303,000-member union, founded in 1889, represents active and retired city letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service.

During the convention, delegates will discuss issues critical to the future of the Postal Service including efforts to stop contracting out of letter carrier positions by the Postal Service, the work of special task force to evaluate postal delivery routes, and resolutions and constitutional amendments submitted by delegates.

In addition to Senator Clinton, speakers scheduled to address the convention include: Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; Reps. John Tierney and Michael Capuano, both (D-MA), and John McHugh (R-NY); American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus; Alan Kessler, Chairman, USPS Board of Governors; Michael Critelli, executive chairman of the board, Pitney Bowes Inc.; Bill Disbrow, president and CEO, Valpak; Philip Bowyer, deputy general secretary, Union Network International; Stephen Fitzpatrick, general secretary, Communications Workers Union, Ireland; and Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The NALC, founded in 1889, represents all 230,000 city delivery letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service throughout the 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

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Direct mail spend down nine per cent

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Spend on direct mail fell by nine per cent in 2007, according to The Top 100 Direct Mail Spenders report published by Marketing Direct.

The report, based on a survey of more than 6,000 consumers by media consultancy Billetts, reveals that declining response rates, a shift to digital and environmental pressures are behind the decline in budget being allocated to direct mail.

Financial services companies cut back spend on mail as the first effects of the credit crunch were felt half way through 2007. The top five users of direct mail – BSkyB, Saga Group, MBNA Europe, Lloyds TSB and Halifax – all registered double-digit decreases in spend in 2007 compared to the year before.

In the same period, the online advertising market, including display, classified, email and paid search grew by 38 per cent to GBP 2.8bn.

Capital One, formerly one of the UK’s top three spenders, fell eight places to number 10 as it reduced its expenditure by 65 per cent to GBP 11.4m in 2007.

Mike Welsh, chief executive of Craik Jones, said the industry had only itself to blame for the move from mail to digital.

Amanda Phillips, chief executive of Proximity London, said that with green issues under the spotlight last year, “direct mail was an obvious target”.

There were three new entrants to the Top 100: QuickPages, the insurance quotation business, Virgin Media and fashion brand Oli.

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EuroDirect to join Royal Mail data partners (UK)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is strengthening its investment in data services by adding EuroDirect to its panel of data partners.

The move is designed to better service Royal Mail’s customers with dedicated data solutions, and assist them in using data tools to improve the effectiveness of their direct mail campaigns.

Royal Mail’s clients will now benefit from EuroDirect’s Data Exchange prospect pool consisting of 40 million records, its suite of Cameo Consumer Classifications, credit-scoring service CallQualify, and consumer insight and marketing intelligence system Microvision.

EuroDirect joins Dataforce on the panel, which was set up in January.

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Hongkong Post launches new "iMailR service"

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

With the Internet creating new opportunities for cross-border trading, Hongkong Post has introduced the “Bulk Registered Air Mail service” (BRAM) since August 2005 to support the development of e-commerce. In response to market demand for efficient communications arising from booming online trade, a new “service” will be fully launched on July 14, 2008, to facilitate customs pre-declaration while providing customers with a fast, reliable and simplified way to make bulk postings.

Two value-added options – a supplementary insurance service and an online credit card payment facility – will also be introduced. The “service” will replace the BRAM service that will cease on the same day.

The new “service” helps online sellers streamline the preparation of bulk postings that require a signature on receipt of delivery. In the past, address labels had to be printed on envelopes with preprinted Hongkong Post permit insignia, with customs clearance forms and air mail labels affixed to each item. Under the new “service”, all these procedures are automated to shorten the time for mail preparation. With the aid of the Online Mailing Tool, all the required information can be printed on an all-in-one label for affixing to individual items.

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FedEx revives talks to buy rival TNT

Posted by | Jul 12, 2008 | |

FedEx is in preliminary talks to acquire TNT, its smaller Dutch rival, in a deal that would bolster the package-delivery company’s parcel network throughout Europe.

While FedEx and United Parcel Service have coveted TNT’s parcel business, they have been reluctant to take on the Dutch company’s slower-growing postal division.

UPS’s interest in snapping up TNT has waned in the past decade as it built its own European delivery network. The company recently forged closer ties to TNT’s main rival, DHL, through its agreement to ferry the Deutsche Post unit’s packages between North American cities.

Deutsche’s GBP 3.7bn acquisition of Exel, the UK-based logistics group, in 2005 has been the sector’s biggest deal to date.

On Friday, FedEx’s market capitalisation was USD 22.8bn (GBP 11.5bn), while TNT stood at USD 11.3bn.

TNT, which primarily operates in Europe and North America, divides its business into two segments: express and mail.

FedEx remains the largest player in the market it pioneered: express delivery. While its biggest operations remain in the US, it has sought to expand overseas.

In Europe, the company aims to build out both its intra-continental network while establishing a local presence in discrete countries. FedEx bought ANC in 2006 to strengthen its domestic express-delivery business in the UK.

In June, FedEx posted its first quarterly loss in 11 years and projected earnings that fall short of analysts’ estimates because of fuel costs and declining demand.

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